Upcycling Furniture with Eco-Friendly Paint: A Colour-Inspired Bedroom Makeover

Painting furniture is one of the most affordable and effective ways to transform a room, giving it a fresh new look without the cost of buying new pieces. It’s also a sustainable choice, allowing existing furniture to be upcycled rather than replaced.

Customer Josie had grown tired of the dark, mismatched, and well-worn wooden furniture in her bedroom and decided it was time for a change. Inspired by her newly purchased kingfisher themed lampshades, she set out to create a colour-coordinated space by upcycling her furniture with paint rather than replacing it.

Finding the perfect shade was key. When the right colour didn’t appear on standard colour cards, Josie was introduced to the Natural Colour System (NCS) colour chart, where she discovered the exact hues she was looking for.

“Celtic Sustainables were just wonderful. I couldn’t find the right colour on any of the colour cards, so they suggested I look at the NCS colour chart — and that’s where I found the perfect shades.”

What is the NCS Colour System?

NCS colours are similar to RAL colours in that they are both colour matching systems. The systems enable paints to be matched across different finishes and paint types. For example, if you wanted your kitchen walls to match the colour of your car! Or indeed, as with one customer who visited our shop, the living room walls to match the beautiful colouring of their dog’s fur coat!

What are the differences between NCS and RAL colour systems?

NCS (Natural Colour Matching) is a Swedish designed system for colour matching based on how humans perceive colour. It is based on hue, saturation and lightness and offers perhaps more nuanced colour options. It is used a lot in interior design.

RAL colours originate from Germany. RAL, Reichs-Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen, translates to “Reich Committee for Delivery Terms”. The committee was set up in 1925 to determine standards and quality. The acronym persists today and RAL is still a quality assurance system today!

RAL colours are popular in the construction and automotive sectors (powder coatings and the like). RAL colours have a number and often a name too. For example, the blues on the metal parts of the building here at Celtic Sustainables are RAL 5014 Pigeon Blue. When it came to repainting our wooden warehouse fire doors (that were looking very worn when we moved in) we simply mixed Eico Alterior Satin to RAL 5014. Our newly painted wooden doors match the metal perfectly!

Mixing paints to RAL or NCS colours

At Celtic Sustainables we can mix Eico to RAL and NCS Colours, and Graphenstone to most NCS colours.

Currently there is no extra charge for this service, however this may change in the future. To obtain an ecofriendly paint in an NCS or RAL colour simply contact us for a quote. There may be some slight perceived variation to the colour mixed to the NCS or RAL colour card because of the sheen level of the paint. Bespoke mixed colours cannot be returned.

Upcycling Furniture with Eico Paints

Upcycling furniture is a brilliant way to refresh your home while reducing waste and embracing more sustainable living. With the help of eco-friendly paint, even tired, old pieces can be transformed into stylish, one-of-a-kind features. That’s exactly what Josie achieved with her latest furniture makeover project using Eico Paints.

Josie transformed her bedroom using two stunning shades from the NCS 2050 colour fan deck: S 1030-B90G, a fresh mint green, and S 2030-B50G, a rich teal tone. She chose to have both colours mixed into the smallest tins of Eico Alterior Eggshell eco-friendly paint (0.9L), one tin of each shade.

Remarkably, just 0.9L of paint was enough to completely refresh a wooden bed frame, with plenty left over to upcycle a wooden chest of drawers as well. With the second tin, Josie gave new life to a small shelving unit, an old wicker chair, and a nest of three tables. Two of which are now being used as stylish bedside tables.

This project is a perfect example of how sustainable furniture upcycling can transform a space without waste. By using eco-friendly, low-VOC paint, Josie didn’t just update her décor, she made an environmentally conscious choice that’s better for both her home and the planet.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled. The bedroom now has a beautifully unique, colour-coordinated look. It’s just amazing the difference two small tins of paint and some upcycling furniture can make.”

Upcycling furniture with eco-friendly paint proves that sustainable design doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, just creative, thoughtful, and inspiring.

By choosing eco-friendly furniture paint and reusing existing pieces, Josie has created a cohesive, personalised bedroom while making a more sustainable choice for her home. Upcycling furniture with Eico Paints shows just how easy it is to achieve a stunning transformation while being kinder to the environment.

Ready to Start Your Own Furniture Upcycling Project?

Whether you’re refreshing a single piece or giving a whole room a new look, Eico’s eco-friendly paints make it easy to upcycle furniture beautifully and sustainably. Explore The Eico Alterior Eggshell colour range and see how a small tin of paint can make a big difference in your home.